


Missy

by Calacious



Series: Mirrors [5]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Fluffy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mild Angst, Therapy Dog
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-25
Updated: 2018-04-25
Packaged: 2019-04-27 16:07:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14429238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Calacious/pseuds/Calacious
Summary: Steve knows he should not be jealous of a dog, but it's hard not to be when she makes Danny smile in a way that he's not seen in what feels like forever.





	Missy

**Author's Note:**

> Steve's point of view again. 
> 
> I found information about therapy dogs in an article written by Mary Simpson, titled, “Top 10 Best Psychiatric Service Dogs,” from petguide.com.

“What should we call her?” Steve asks, hand resting lightly on the top of the border collie that Danny had picked out for training as an emotional support dog.

“Missy,” Danny says, no hesitation. There’s a smile playing on his lips, something Steve doesn’t see often enough nowadays.

Apparently Dr. Paige had been right about the therapy dog. Already, Danny seems happier and more like his old self, the self that he’s been insisting no longer exists, but Steve knows does exist because he sees a glimpse of it every single day in little things that Danny does or says. The way that Danny looks at him when Steve’s done something that he knows Danny would have called him out on once upon a time; how he combs his hair; the way he walks into a room, checking for all exits; the way he kisses; the delighted look that crosses his face whenever he’s with Grace and Charlie.

“Missy,” Steve tries the name out and smiles at the way that Danny’s eyes light up when the border collie wags her tail and licks Danny’s hand. “Good name.”

“She likes it,” Danny says, eyes crinkling with happiness.

“Yeah, she does,” Steve agrees.

“When?” Danny’s kneeling on the floor, petting Missy, and Steve can’t help the small pang of jealousy that stabs at his heart.

It’s ridiculous. He shouldn’t be jealous of a dog that can help his partner. He knows this. Knows that, no matter how much he wants to be everything that Danny needs, he can’t.

There are certain things that he can’t do for Danny that Missy can, such as sense when Danny’s starting to have a panic attack before it’s obvious to humans, and provide him with immediate grounding — things Steve can’t do, especially when he’s at work. All things which Dr. Paige had told him when they’d discussed taking the next step in Danny’s recovery — gaining a measure of independence.

Watching Danny with Missy, Steve takes a deep breath in through his nose and lets it out through his mouth. It’s harder to push aside the jealousy than he wants to admit, especially seeing Danny more at ease than he’s been since Steve recovered him.

He wants to laugh at himself, but his gut twists, and he settles for simply watching Danny introduce himself to the dog that will hopefully change his life for the better as Dr. Paige had intimated would happen.

Missy won’t bring Danny’s memories back, but she will be able to help him cope with life, and hopefully help him heal from wounds and scars that will never show up on Danny’s body simply because they are mental rather than physical. Steve knows from personal experience that those are the hardest wounds to heal. They take the longest to heal as well. There are some wounds Steve hasn’t healed from yet, and he’s been dealing with them for years.

He’s learned that there’s no room for pride in any of this, and to admit that he’s got issues he needs to deal with. Pride has no place in his life anymore, not when Danny still looks at himself in a mirror and sees a stranger looking back.

“So, she’s the one?” Steve asks, though he already knows the answer even before Danny, fingers buried in the collie’s fur, turns his smile toward Steve and nods his head.

“Yeah,” Danny adds. “Missy.”

Steve wants to ask about the name, but doesn’t. It’ll only frustrate Danny when he won’t be able to get the words he needs to say to cooperate with his mouth. Something that frustrates Steve as well, though he saves the admission of that struggle for his own, private sessions with Dr. Paige. Though they were her suggestion and Steve had at first refused to see his own need for therapeutic counseling, one particularly bad night when Danny had broken the bathroom mirror and wound up in the emergency room, hands all cut to hell, Steve went to a dark place — had to be talked down from his own sorry mental state — and realized that he couldn’t handle Danny’s issues without dealing with his own first.

“She’s a good choice,” Steve says, forcing himself to focus on the here and now and to not go back down the dark road that he’d been on when Danny had been taken from him.

“Pretty,” Danny says, huffing and frowning in frustration. Missy doesn’t miss a beat, pushes her cold, wet nose against Danny’s chin, demanding his attention with a plaintive sound that has Danny smiling and resuming his petting.

“She’s a beauty,” Steve says, kneeling beside Danny and Missy, running his hands through her silky fur and breathing a little easier when Danny grins at him and giggles when Missy licks his palm to elicit more attention from him.

“Thank you,” Danny says.

His eyes are locked on Missy’s furry coat, but Steve can see that Danny’s eyes are glittering with tears, his hands shaking almost imperceptibly. Missy licks at his face, and the spell is broken. Danny laughs, and presses his forehead against Missy’s.

“You’re welcome, Danno,” Steve says, moving his hand from Missy to the back of Danny’s head, gently massaging.

“Good girl,” Danny whispers.

“That she is,” Steve agrees, though his eyes are on Danny and not Missy.

His heart still aches a little at the thought that Danny’s more unguarded with a dog than he is with him, but Danny’s always loved animals, and whether or not he’d gone through the unspeakable horrors that he’d been put through, he knows that Danny would still be besotted with the pretty dog.

Some things never change, no matter what a person goes through, and that is what Steve holds onto, what brings him comfort and sees him through the times when he feels like putting his fist through a wall because he can’t _fix_ Danny; can’t make everything right for the man he loves. The man he failed to protect.

Missy pushes her nose against Steve’s arm, jarring him out of his morose thoughts, and Steve gives her a searching look before the corners of his mouth quirk up and he gives her a pat on the head. Her puppy dog eyes beg him for more, and with a laugh, Steve complies, heart skipping a beat when he sees Danny watching him, an almost smug look of satisfaction on his face, a broad grin turned on him.

“You, too,” Danny says, jabbing a finger at Steve.

Steve bites his lip and nods, blinking back tears that threaten to fall. “Yeah,” he agrees, voice thick with emotion that he’s trying hard to suppress.

“Ours,” Danny says, grasping Steve’s fingers through Missy’s fur and earning a happy yip and tail wag from Missy.

“Ours.” Steve can’t help but match the smile that Danny’s giving him.

“‘Ohana,” Danny says the word carefully, a little frown of concentration between his eyebrows.

“‘Ohana.” Steve kisses Danny’s cheek and nods. “Kamekona teach you that?”

Nodding, Danny blushes and looks back at Missy.

“How about we fill out the paperwork and take our girl home with us?” Steve asks, helping Danny to his feet.

Danny keeps one hand on Missy’s head, the other’s tucked in Steve’s arm, and he takes a confident step forward, face beaming. “Home.”

“Love you, Danno,” Steve says.

“Ditto,” Danny says, voice filled with as much emotion as it would be if he’d repeated the words themselves to Steve.

It’s a word that Grace had taught Danny to use when she’d noticed her dad struggling to repeat phrases. Hearing how easily it rolls off Danny’s tongue now makes Steve’s gut clench with remembered pain and fear from when Danny hadn’t been able to speak at all.

Missy pushes her nose against his leg, whining a little, and Danny squeezes his arm.

“’s’okay,” Danny says, resting his head against Steve’s shoulder.

Missy barks in agreement. It’s a happy sound, and the heaviness that had settled in his chest abates. Maybe it wasn’t just Danny Dr. Paige had in mind when she’d suggested that they look into adopting a therapy dog. Deception aside, he’s happy that they’re getting Missy, and it’s not just because Danny’s smitten with her. He’s man enough to admit that maybe he needs her just as much as Danny does. After all, he’s no longer the same man he was before Danny went missing, and he’ll never be that man again. He’s okay with that. Just as he’s okay with the differences in Danny.

“Stop,” Danny says, nudging Steve. Missy nudges him as well.

“Okay, okay,” Steve says, laughing. “I’ll stop my brooding.”

“Good.” Danny’s voice has a teasing lilt to it that Steve hasn’t heard in a long time. He’s missed that tone.

Maybe Missy will do more than just give Danny a sense of independence. She might just bring some much needed joy and normality to their lives as well. It’s a lot of hope and pressure to put on a dog, but Steve gets the impression that Missy’s up to the task, and that she won’t mind it a bit.


End file.
